翠袖乾坤：辨別與記憶
Wen Wei Po (香港文匯報) Supplement
Date: February 17, 2008
Author: Man Kit Wah
http://paper.wenweipo.com/2008/02/17/OT0802170003.htm
Downloaded from http://bbs.ent.163.com/bbs/zhangguorong/47126124.html
Translated by Daydreamer on February 20, 2008
Once in a commemorative activity for Leslie Cheung, a junior high pupil stood up and said, “I really envy those of you who grew up with Gorgor for having the opportunity to spend the different phases of life with him together, and for knowing such a beautiful personage …” He said this seriously as if talking about a piece of art.
Lately, people mourned the death of Heath Ledger, the actor in “Broke Back Mountain”. Beautiful people passed away one after the other. If looking at it from an all-alike perspective, they were possibly like a river that flew by, or like the surf we saw, while riding on a ferry, which stirred up and then submerged again in the sea. No matter how best our eye sight follows the surf, it nonetheless comes and goes without a trace. If we look at it from an all-different angle, then all of them may leave footprints in our hearts, none of them should be left out, and none of them can be replaced.
Perhaps we should be proud that we have the ability to differentiate, otherwise, massive memories will be buried. To remember all unique people and things will unavoidably cause regrets and pain, but perhaps that was once the source of happiness!
At school when we discussed about the philosophy of Plato, we had the following criticism towards his world of idea: If every thing and substance in the world all has a prototype in the world of idea to correspond with it, to show the imperfection in the real world, then how can it be explained? Because if in the real world there is a pot of half filthy water, we then may say that in the world of idea, there also happens to have such a pot of half filthy water prototype which is entirely alike. If that is the case, then there is no difference at all.
For those people whom we know and love, because of our sentiment, each of them is a unique prototype in our mind. Do you think Johnny Depp and Leslie Cheung are a little bit alike? That is merely some one-sided impression. Without an unreachable prototype in another world, but only at this time and place or at some time and place there really once existed an individual whom we met and sparked a bright and radiant light.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Elvis Presley v. Leslie Cheung (an article written by a fan)
Written by kendy-85
Date: 2008-01-29 04:37:59
Downloaded from http://bbs.ent.163.com/bbs/zhangguorong/45704126.html
Translated by Daydreamer on February 6, 2008
In 1977, Elvis Presley died putting an end to his 22 years of performing career; that year, Leslie Cheung entered the entertainment world after participating in a singing contest. Twenty-six years later, people define Leslie using the same evaluation they used on Elvis Presley: Immortal Legend.
It is difficult for Leslie to attain the influence that Elvis had achieved in the music world; however, Leslie definitely surpassed Elvis in movie-making in view of the massive poorly-reviewed movies that Elvis had made. Elvis had a chaotic private life which directly affected his music creation and performance in the late period of his career. Leslie, on the contrary, was a highly disciplined person. He had never stopped transcending himself until the end of his life. Nonetheless, in cultural icon evaluation, the Americans proudly put Elvis in the third place. In China, Leslie was ranked seventh, yet this result had aroused much public controversy leading to a great deal of debates in the forum; even mass media joined in making it the hottest topic of the day. For Elvis and Leslie who were of different cultural backgrounds, which one of them was luckier?
Leslie had an inborn aristocrat quality, while Elvis rose to his success by singing black people’s African-American music. The only similarity is that both possessed a magnetic mellow voice and a sexy stage image which was most controversial. Hong Kong’s most valuable lyricist Lam Chik in answering reporter’s questions said that the reason he always wrote sentimental lyrics for Leslie is because Leslie possessed a voice like Elvis Presley. During the eight long years that Leslie had striven, he did once plan to imitate Elvis. At the 1986 Expo performance, we could see Elvis’s shadow in Leslie when he sang “Stand Up”: his voice, his action on stage and especially eye expression which was very much like that of Elvis’s. He first twisted the hip and flung the head, then took up the microphone and threw the stand away, following with a 360 degree turn. Unfortunately, he carelessly fell over on stage when returning to the backstage after shaking hands with the audience; but the Leslie that we saw from that part of the video clip was so loveable, with a childlike air that was possessed by him only.
The young Elvis and Leslie were very much alike: radiant, handsome, and sexy like a good-looking young man found in the ancient Greek myths. However, in Elvis’s middle age, in addition to taking drugs massively, he also over-indulged in food and drinks, and lived an extremely intemperate private life. At the age of 42, he completely collapsed and died. On the contrary, years had not added any signs of aging on Leslie’s face. More so, with the passage of time, we saw holiness and purity in his face, just like an angel. His gracefulness made people fear to look at him directly. These two people, however, did have one similarity, which is fatal attraction, especially towards females. When they were on stage, the audience forgot about themselves. Westerners usually expressed their emotions more directly, very often they would rush to the stage like mad as if they wanted to tear Elvis apart and swallow him alive. In Leslie’s concerts between 1985 and 1989, the audience showed great enthusiasm and passion also. So long as Leslie shook hand with them, his hands would become swollen with fingernail scratches all over. Sometimes, the audience even tried to pull him off the stage.
Leslie was born in 1956, the year when Elvis was discovered by the renowned manager Colonel Parker, then started his path to become a super star. Elvis passed his childhood in poverty. His grasp of music came from experience gained in early years singing in choirs. Leslie, however, studied abroad in England for seven years. At that time, it was the golden age of British music. Leslie who was deeply affected by the music could never forget the singers like Elton John, etc. In his 22 years in the music world, Elvis had brought us a lot of pleasant listening music. Most interestingly, not counting the four to five years of Leslie’s retirement from the music world, he also was in the music world for almost twenty-two years.
Let’s talk more about their differences.
Elvis was a real blue-eyed boy. Throughout his whole life, he was controlled and protected by his recording company. He earned a huge sum of money for his company and for himself, and was a super idol throughout his life time. Even when he was overweighed and in bad shape, people still believed that so long as he shut himself up in the recording studio, he would sing some beautiful songs that could lift people’s soul and spirit. Even after his death for half a century, his image still appears in different kinds of products. Until now, he and Marilyn Monroe are still the irreplaceable sexy symbol in the European and American music and film world. Regarding his private life, Elvis was almost secluded from outside, but in his private world, he had no scruples at all. From the very beginning, he did not have to put in too much efforts. Lyrics and melodies of his songs were relatively simple yet fine and perceptual, also very typical, and possessed a special kind of magic power, especially conformed to young people’s rebellious personality. The whole world was really rocked and rolled by his music. Because of this, he in fact became a priceless commodity. In his music and especially in the massive Hollywood movies, he unceasingly duplicated himself in order to guarantee a profit, until one day he was tired of doing so. In the later period of his career, he attempted to make some changes, but was not too successful, as a result he went back to his old route. When he was not making movies, he would appear on television. Even so, people were still full of hope and anticipation, until at the end they had to face his departure with sadness.
Leslie was different. His delicate and handsome face along with talent in music did not really bring him any immediate success. He strove for eight years before holding his first personal concert. Another big difference is that from the very beginning, Leslie resisted to be used and controlled by other people. Before 1989, he was dominated by his recording company. Majority people did not believe that he would give up everything to retreat at the very peak of his career, yet he really did so. His reason to come back to the showbiz afterwards was not to earn a living or to make a profit like the other ordinary performing artists did. Regardless of the 1989 final encounter concerts, or his come-back in 1995, Leslie had only one goal, he wanted to be himself, to do something that he liked to do, to be a “fucking good artist”. He indeed had achieved that goal by using his own power and strength. The pressure that he faced was different from Elvis’s, although it was just as severe. Elvis’s pressure came from how many copies of records he could sell and how good the box-office record of his movies was. Yet for Leslie, he had to face with his own image being twisted and smeared by the media. Throughout his career, he had always been on his own, a lonely individual facing disputes and criticisms from the outer world.
A very important reason to compare Leslie with Elvis is that in definition both of them were idols of true significance. Both of them led the trend in music. For 20 years, their good music emerged one after another incessantly. However, their own charm and charisma from beginning to end had been more glamorous and alluring than their music. No matter what kind of Elvis’s music you are listening to, be it fast or slow, his eminent hip-twisting movement as well as affectionate- or sly-eye expression will spontaneously go into your imagination. Leslie was more so, no matter how pleasant-listening the songs were, no matter how beautiful the stages had been decorated, they could never surpass his own charisma which would affect audience’s emotion greatly and melt their hearts. In particular, when Leslie sang other people’s songs, that feeling was even more intense. It is very difficult to tell precisely what special characteristic or quality these two people possessed that could challenge people’s innermost feelings and emotions. External factors like perfect outer appearance, uninhibited temperament, exceptionally gifted voices, etc., are possessed by all other entertainers as well, but only Elvis and Leslie could simultaneously take people, with different demands and requirements, to a facsinatedly state. Moreover, without the need of singing or saying a word, simply did something casual, audience’s mood would be stimulated and they would follow them involuntarily.
However, Leslie obviously had more self-awareness towards innovation and change in music. The media once queried about his 1997 concerts since no one could forget the Leslie in the year 1989. Radically he did not have to add any new tricks or new elements to his 1997 concerts, all he needed was simply sing some old songs, then the audience would be satisfied. Injecting new elements into the concerts would have gains and losses, then why took the risk to do so? Until now, people will still sigh and wonder what made Leslie decide to come back when thinking of the indefinite ordeal he had endured mentally and physically. Since he understood full well that an entertainer should retire at his most glorious moment, then why afterwards he could not be as natural and determined as he used to be in 1989? No one can answer these questions. Just as an internet friend said, “The absolute real Leslie has left behind a lot of puzzles for us to solve. However, there will never be any answers to them; or perhaps the answers to those questions have already been staying in our hearts unobtrusively and imperceptibly.”
Perhaps Elvis was not too happy after all, but he had never had much restraint in his private life; that is to say, he could have many different ways to vent his emotions without the fear of affecting his image. Even though he might face dreadful void and loneliness after numerous absurd behaviours and actions, it still could not match the depression that Leslie had suffered for 20 years. From a certain perspective of significance, Leslie’s depression could be said as the prime culprit that led him to give up his life, however, it could also be a kind of wealth for him. The illness of depression, or perhaps the so-called source of pain and agony is actually a kind of calmness and consciousness, a kind of extreme sensitivity towards the essence of human nature, a kind of thorough understanding towards the meaning of life …. Leslie had said so himself that an actor must understand the nature of human being, that way he could make some of the characters that he played more persuasive as if he had injected life into them. However, if an actor was too involved in the characters, then he would be possessed by evil spirit, that’s what we call “evil in the heart”. Perhaps that is the reason why whoever possesses big wisdom will probably attach to some kind of religion at the end. Seeing Leslie in extreme pain and agony in his final days, his good friend Alan Tang Kwong-wing tried to make him see the bright side of life, but when Tang was speechless, Leslie said to him, “You thought you knew them all?”
Of course, I do have some reservations towards the way of seeing things because no matter who he is, so long as he exists in this world, he is merely a mediocre individual, with seven-emotions [footnote 1] and six sensory pleasures [footnote 2] interacting. If he can find a gap, it will not be hard for him to reach a certain state of balance, and there is no need to go to extremes. One thing though is certain about this tragedy. Psychological studies of nowadays came from the Western world, attention paid to the Chinese people is by far not sufficient, that probably is the reason why even the psychologist was unable to cure him. Besides, Hong King is a place of extremity and complexity. For those who believe in Western medicine will at the same time consume Chinese herbs; and those who seek help from psychologists will also ask for assistance from Wong Tai Sin [footnote 3]. It is probable that Chinese medicine and Western medicine may have opposite effects; similarly, psychologists will never agree with Wong Tai Sin as they hold different opinions and never trust one another.
FOOTNOTES:
Note1: Seven emotions are happiness, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, desire
Note 2: Six sensory pleasures derived from the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind
Note 3: An immortal, one of the most popular gods in Hong Kong
Date: 2008-01-29 04:37:59
Downloaded from http://bbs.ent.163.com/bbs/zhangguorong/45704126.html
Translated by Daydreamer on February 6, 2008
In 1977, Elvis Presley died putting an end to his 22 years of performing career; that year, Leslie Cheung entered the entertainment world after participating in a singing contest. Twenty-six years later, people define Leslie using the same evaluation they used on Elvis Presley: Immortal Legend.
It is difficult for Leslie to attain the influence that Elvis had achieved in the music world; however, Leslie definitely surpassed Elvis in movie-making in view of the massive poorly-reviewed movies that Elvis had made. Elvis had a chaotic private life which directly affected his music creation and performance in the late period of his career. Leslie, on the contrary, was a highly disciplined person. He had never stopped transcending himself until the end of his life. Nonetheless, in cultural icon evaluation, the Americans proudly put Elvis in the third place. In China, Leslie was ranked seventh, yet this result had aroused much public controversy leading to a great deal of debates in the forum; even mass media joined in making it the hottest topic of the day. For Elvis and Leslie who were of different cultural backgrounds, which one of them was luckier?
Leslie had an inborn aristocrat quality, while Elvis rose to his success by singing black people’s African-American music. The only similarity is that both possessed a magnetic mellow voice and a sexy stage image which was most controversial. Hong Kong’s most valuable lyricist Lam Chik in answering reporter’s questions said that the reason he always wrote sentimental lyrics for Leslie is because Leslie possessed a voice like Elvis Presley. During the eight long years that Leslie had striven, he did once plan to imitate Elvis. At the 1986 Expo performance, we could see Elvis’s shadow in Leslie when he sang “Stand Up”: his voice, his action on stage and especially eye expression which was very much like that of Elvis’s. He first twisted the hip and flung the head, then took up the microphone and threw the stand away, following with a 360 degree turn. Unfortunately, he carelessly fell over on stage when returning to the backstage after shaking hands with the audience; but the Leslie that we saw from that part of the video clip was so loveable, with a childlike air that was possessed by him only.
The young Elvis and Leslie were very much alike: radiant, handsome, and sexy like a good-looking young man found in the ancient Greek myths. However, in Elvis’s middle age, in addition to taking drugs massively, he also over-indulged in food and drinks, and lived an extremely intemperate private life. At the age of 42, he completely collapsed and died. On the contrary, years had not added any signs of aging on Leslie’s face. More so, with the passage of time, we saw holiness and purity in his face, just like an angel. His gracefulness made people fear to look at him directly. These two people, however, did have one similarity, which is fatal attraction, especially towards females. When they were on stage, the audience forgot about themselves. Westerners usually expressed their emotions more directly, very often they would rush to the stage like mad as if they wanted to tear Elvis apart and swallow him alive. In Leslie’s concerts between 1985 and 1989, the audience showed great enthusiasm and passion also. So long as Leslie shook hand with them, his hands would become swollen with fingernail scratches all over. Sometimes, the audience even tried to pull him off the stage.
Leslie was born in 1956, the year when Elvis was discovered by the renowned manager Colonel Parker, then started his path to become a super star. Elvis passed his childhood in poverty. His grasp of music came from experience gained in early years singing in choirs. Leslie, however, studied abroad in England for seven years. At that time, it was the golden age of British music. Leslie who was deeply affected by the music could never forget the singers like Elton John, etc. In his 22 years in the music world, Elvis had brought us a lot of pleasant listening music. Most interestingly, not counting the four to five years of Leslie’s retirement from the music world, he also was in the music world for almost twenty-two years.
Let’s talk more about their differences.
Elvis was a real blue-eyed boy. Throughout his whole life, he was controlled and protected by his recording company. He earned a huge sum of money for his company and for himself, and was a super idol throughout his life time. Even when he was overweighed and in bad shape, people still believed that so long as he shut himself up in the recording studio, he would sing some beautiful songs that could lift people’s soul and spirit. Even after his death for half a century, his image still appears in different kinds of products. Until now, he and Marilyn Monroe are still the irreplaceable sexy symbol in the European and American music and film world. Regarding his private life, Elvis was almost secluded from outside, but in his private world, he had no scruples at all. From the very beginning, he did not have to put in too much efforts. Lyrics and melodies of his songs were relatively simple yet fine and perceptual, also very typical, and possessed a special kind of magic power, especially conformed to young people’s rebellious personality. The whole world was really rocked and rolled by his music. Because of this, he in fact became a priceless commodity. In his music and especially in the massive Hollywood movies, he unceasingly duplicated himself in order to guarantee a profit, until one day he was tired of doing so. In the later period of his career, he attempted to make some changes, but was not too successful, as a result he went back to his old route. When he was not making movies, he would appear on television. Even so, people were still full of hope and anticipation, until at the end they had to face his departure with sadness.
Leslie was different. His delicate and handsome face along with talent in music did not really bring him any immediate success. He strove for eight years before holding his first personal concert. Another big difference is that from the very beginning, Leslie resisted to be used and controlled by other people. Before 1989, he was dominated by his recording company. Majority people did not believe that he would give up everything to retreat at the very peak of his career, yet he really did so. His reason to come back to the showbiz afterwards was not to earn a living or to make a profit like the other ordinary performing artists did. Regardless of the 1989 final encounter concerts, or his come-back in 1995, Leslie had only one goal, he wanted to be himself, to do something that he liked to do, to be a “fucking good artist”. He indeed had achieved that goal by using his own power and strength. The pressure that he faced was different from Elvis’s, although it was just as severe. Elvis’s pressure came from how many copies of records he could sell and how good the box-office record of his movies was. Yet for Leslie, he had to face with his own image being twisted and smeared by the media. Throughout his career, he had always been on his own, a lonely individual facing disputes and criticisms from the outer world.
A very important reason to compare Leslie with Elvis is that in definition both of them were idols of true significance. Both of them led the trend in music. For 20 years, their good music emerged one after another incessantly. However, their own charm and charisma from beginning to end had been more glamorous and alluring than their music. No matter what kind of Elvis’s music you are listening to, be it fast or slow, his eminent hip-twisting movement as well as affectionate- or sly-eye expression will spontaneously go into your imagination. Leslie was more so, no matter how pleasant-listening the songs were, no matter how beautiful the stages had been decorated, they could never surpass his own charisma which would affect audience’s emotion greatly and melt their hearts. In particular, when Leslie sang other people’s songs, that feeling was even more intense. It is very difficult to tell precisely what special characteristic or quality these two people possessed that could challenge people’s innermost feelings and emotions. External factors like perfect outer appearance, uninhibited temperament, exceptionally gifted voices, etc., are possessed by all other entertainers as well, but only Elvis and Leslie could simultaneously take people, with different demands and requirements, to a facsinatedly state. Moreover, without the need of singing or saying a word, simply did something casual, audience’s mood would be stimulated and they would follow them involuntarily.
However, Leslie obviously had more self-awareness towards innovation and change in music. The media once queried about his 1997 concerts since no one could forget the Leslie in the year 1989. Radically he did not have to add any new tricks or new elements to his 1997 concerts, all he needed was simply sing some old songs, then the audience would be satisfied. Injecting new elements into the concerts would have gains and losses, then why took the risk to do so? Until now, people will still sigh and wonder what made Leslie decide to come back when thinking of the indefinite ordeal he had endured mentally and physically. Since he understood full well that an entertainer should retire at his most glorious moment, then why afterwards he could not be as natural and determined as he used to be in 1989? No one can answer these questions. Just as an internet friend said, “The absolute real Leslie has left behind a lot of puzzles for us to solve. However, there will never be any answers to them; or perhaps the answers to those questions have already been staying in our hearts unobtrusively and imperceptibly.”
Perhaps Elvis was not too happy after all, but he had never had much restraint in his private life; that is to say, he could have many different ways to vent his emotions without the fear of affecting his image. Even though he might face dreadful void and loneliness after numerous absurd behaviours and actions, it still could not match the depression that Leslie had suffered for 20 years. From a certain perspective of significance, Leslie’s depression could be said as the prime culprit that led him to give up his life, however, it could also be a kind of wealth for him. The illness of depression, or perhaps the so-called source of pain and agony is actually a kind of calmness and consciousness, a kind of extreme sensitivity towards the essence of human nature, a kind of thorough understanding towards the meaning of life …. Leslie had said so himself that an actor must understand the nature of human being, that way he could make some of the characters that he played more persuasive as if he had injected life into them. However, if an actor was too involved in the characters, then he would be possessed by evil spirit, that’s what we call “evil in the heart”. Perhaps that is the reason why whoever possesses big wisdom will probably attach to some kind of religion at the end. Seeing Leslie in extreme pain and agony in his final days, his good friend Alan Tang Kwong-wing tried to make him see the bright side of life, but when Tang was speechless, Leslie said to him, “You thought you knew them all?”
Of course, I do have some reservations towards the way of seeing things because no matter who he is, so long as he exists in this world, he is merely a mediocre individual, with seven-emotions [footnote 1] and six sensory pleasures [footnote 2] interacting. If he can find a gap, it will not be hard for him to reach a certain state of balance, and there is no need to go to extremes. One thing though is certain about this tragedy. Psychological studies of nowadays came from the Western world, attention paid to the Chinese people is by far not sufficient, that probably is the reason why even the psychologist was unable to cure him. Besides, Hong King is a place of extremity and complexity. For those who believe in Western medicine will at the same time consume Chinese herbs; and those who seek help from psychologists will also ask for assistance from Wong Tai Sin [footnote 3]. It is probable that Chinese medicine and Western medicine may have opposite effects; similarly, psychologists will never agree with Wong Tai Sin as they hold different opinions and never trust one another.
FOOTNOTES:
Note1: Seven emotions are happiness, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, desire
Note 2: Six sensory pleasures derived from the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind
Note 3: An immortal, one of the most popular gods in Hong Kong
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Lasting Legend - Leslie Cheung (Part 1)
By RTHK
Downloaded from YouTube
[Note from Daydreamer: Dear friends, please follow the YouTube links I state herein because I just found out that there are more than one version of this episode being posted on YouTube. As a result, the episode was broken up into parts differently. If you have to rely on this translation to understand the episode, I strongly recommend that you use the links I used to prepare for the translation. Enjoy!!!]
Translated by Daydreamer on January 13, 2008
不死傳奇 - 張國榮part1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZjirIi5_8w&feature=related (run time 9:15 min.)
不死傳奇 - 張國榮part2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2rsu0Qdh7Q&feature=related (run time 8:43 min.)
不死傳奇 - 張國榮part3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sb-qr3K2bE&feature=related (run time 8:52 min.)
不死傳奇 - 張國榮part4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0gVY2ycE4E&feature=related (run time 8:05 min.)
不死傳奇 - 張國榮part5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yugbJkDgw4&feature=related (run time 9:07 min.)
Hostess / Narrator: Karen Mok
PART 1 from YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZjirIi5_8w&feature=related
[Fans showing Gorgor’s memorabilia]
[The song “For Your Love Only” was played]
Fan: Here is where Gorgor lived in the 80s.
[TV showed set where “Days of Being Wild” was filmed]
Antique Shopowner at Cat Street (“SO”): Gorgor once shot a scene here.
SO: Every year at the anniversary of his death, many tourists [fan friends] from the States, Taiwan, Beijing, Shanghai will come here.
Reporter: From all over the world?
SO: Yes, there are also people from Shenzhen. They all know how to come here. Most of them know how to come. Some come every year. I can recognize them when I see them. Among them, there are a few, whom I recognize, have come here before.
Reporter: Are you a fan yourself?
SO: Yes, I am.
Reporter: You are too?
SO: Here on this key chain, I have put his photos.
SO: On this side also. [Showing her key chain to the reporter]
SO: About him … how should I put it … I really don’t know how to describe. He was very friendly, really nice. He wouldn’t put on air or be arrogant. [She looked at Leslie’s picture]
SO: Once every two or three days, I will take the picture out and look at it.
[RED – 1997 Crossover Concert was played]
Karen Mok: I will definitely consider myself as Gorgor’s first fan.
Karen Mok: When I first met him, he was singing in the Rediffusion’s song contest.
Karen Mok: My mom was a senior official at that TV station, so whenever there were big variety shows that required little kids to present flowers, I would be one of them.
Karen Mok: When Gorgor sang, he was dressed in white. Extremely cool! He sang “American Pie”, an English song. He danced and sang, really stylish; it was just fascinating and pleasant to watch.
Narrator announcing: The 7th contestant is Mr. Leslie Cheung from Hong Kong. He is 20 years old, a student.
[“American Pie” was played]
Michael Lai: He sang “American Pie” which was 7 minutes long. I said, “Man, when you are in a song contest, we can only spare you 3 to 4 minutes”. He said how could he bring out the mood of the song if it had to be cut short. I said I knew that would affect the feeling but nothing could be done since show time for each contestant had to be equal.
Michael Lai: He was very skinny, with dark complexion. He also carried some air of royalty.
[“American Pie” continued to play]
Mrs. Mok Ho Mun Yee (Karen Mok’s mother, former vice manager of Rediffusion TV): I and my boss went backstage. When Steve Wong Chek Chiu [then boss of Rediffusion] saw Leslie, he went to him and shook his hand. In front of us, he said, “Leslie, I’ll make you a star”. Leslie’s happiness and hope were expressed in his eyes. When we had eye contact and looked at each other, we knew it would be the case.
[“American Pie” continued to play]
[Showing TV series “Make a Wish” clip, the song “Need You Every Minute” was sung by Leslie]
Narrator: For Leslie who had just started his showbiz career, the title of a runner-up from the Asian Song Contest did not help him to have a smooth sail. He joined the then Rediffusion TV and went through a period of hard time, full of bitter memories.
[Song “Need You Every Minute” continued to play]
Leslie: At that time, my image was not very pleasing as I was really uptrend, wearing a suit and a navy’s hat; my outfit was avant garde.
Leslie: While I was singing, I saw a hat being blown at me, it looked really familiar and when I took another look, it was my own hat.
[Song “Silently Swimming Upstream” was played]
Lo Kwok Jim (lyricist): When I wrote “Silently Swimming Upstream”, I was describing the Leslie whom I knew at that stage, because he was very ambitious and full of confidence, believing that he would emerge and be successful.
Florence Chan: He was an artist full of confidence. Even at moments of despair, he never thought of giving up his performing career. He only thought of finding a new company or new performing ways to strive forward in this circle.
[1983 TVB Variety Show clip was played]
Narrator: In 1982, Gorgor joined Capital Artists Recording Company, like a wind-up spring waiting to explode, waiting for the arrival of the 80s, the golden era of Hong Kong’s pop music.
Michael Lai: At first, he tried to imitate different singers. Later, I felt that he should set up his own unique way, I therefore played Elvis Presley’s “Are You Lonesome Tonight” for him. After he finished listening to it, I asked him to try to lower his key a bit. It was my view that, first, singing in a lower key would make his voice sound more manly and sensual. Second, those who listen to the songs are not singers, so if they unknowingly follow you to hum or sing along, then you are half way to success already.
[Song “Wind Continues to Blow” was played]
Leslie [excerpt from his radio autobiography]: “Wind Continues to Blow” was my first record at Capital Artists Recording Company. When it first came out, the response was not ideal. I could say it was worse than what we expected. But perhaps I was lucky, people loved it more and more after listening to it many times. The number of people writing to the radio stations to dedicate this song got larger and larger. It therefore began my new stage. I signed up with TVB as its contract singer.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
Lasting Legend - Leslie Cheung (Part 2)
Part 2 from YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2rsu0Qdh7Q&feature=related
Leslie [excerpt from his radio autobiography]: It therefore began my new stage. I signed up with TVB as its contract singer.
[Song of “Fallen Family” was played]
[Song of “Once an Ordinary Girl” was played]
Lo Kwok Jim: He did not like to follow the contemporary rule of singing a song. According to the term used in Cantonese opera, he was touching the string and then sliding up and down [Note of translator: I believe he means “like striving to not follow the fine balance demanded by Cantonese opera”]. He did not conform completely according to the rhythm.
[Song of “Refuse to Play” was played]
Michael Lai: For those good boys who always stick to the rules it is difficult to rise and become popular. It’s got to be those who, apart from possessing some playful nature, should also be at the same time naughty, because in the artistic field, there is something called “the brush of God”; with that stroke, that splash of red in the picture, like that expression “ah”, it can hit the audience and grab their attention.
[Song of “Monica” was played]
Florence Chan: How popular was “Monica”?
Florence Chan: Because of “Monica”, the sale of his album reached the number of 400,000 copies. Really incredible!
[Song of “Monica” continued to play]
[Karen Mok came out from the backstage]
Karen Mok: I believe Gorgor’s stage charisma is irreplaceable.
Karen Mok: A very important point that he taught me is when standing on the stage, I have to strike a pose, i.e. you have to set up a pose so that all the people’s attention is on you.
[Song “Side Face” was played at the same time.]
Karen Mok: Another golden sentence of Gorgor’s that I like very much is “haau4, leng3, jing4, cyun3”.
[Song of “Red” was played – clip from Red - 1997 Crossover Concert]
Karen Mok: When you have sex appeal, that is “haau3”.
Karen Mok: “leng3” means beauty, it requires no further explanation.
Karen Mok: “jing4” is a kind of manner, apart from your outward appearance.
Karen Mok: For “cyun3”, I think this is the most classic one, i.e. sometimes you yourself do not have to care about what other people think or whether the audience are there supporting you or others, you just ignore their existence [laugh].
Leslie: No one can drive me over the edge and make me quit. If I do not stay in this field any more, it’s because it’s my choice and I will retreat with glory. [excerpt from James Wong et al’s interview of Leslie in 1989]
[Song “Wind Continues to Blow” – clip from Final Encounter (1989) was played]
Florence Chan: Hong Kong was the last stop of Leslie’s 1988 World Tour. During the world tour, he repeatedly told me that, “I feel the pressure is really great. I want to have my own life. I don’t want to do it anymore. I feel that Momoe Yamaguchi (山口百惠) can retire at the age of 21, I can …”. Actually the retirement of Momoe Yamaguchi affected him a lot.
[Song “Fear Not Able to Encounter Again” (1984) was played]
Eliza Chan: I think he was very clever. I think he understood full well that if he continued to stay in the singing field and did not take a break, he could never present yet another fresher image. The only thing that could enable him to establish or breakthrough himself was to take a break.
[Clip of Sam Hui’s Retirement Party was played]
Leslie: I sing here purely because this is a private party, besides, Sam is my favourite artist so tonight I will have to make an exception and sing again.
[Leslie singing “Silence is Golden”]
Narrator: No one would believe that in 1989 when it was the peak of Gorgor’s career, he would make the decision to retreat. As well, no one could foresee that when Gorgor came back from the retreat he would give us so many surprises. [Song “Silence of Golden” goes on]
[Song “Chase” was playing] Gorgor came back to the singing field in 1995
Hui Yuen (Musician): When he returned and was involved in music recording, he didn't have the burden of being a pop idol. His artistic pursuit became higher.
[Leslie at music studio with Hui Yuen]
Hui Yuen: You could see that the songs he chose or the songs that he invited others to write for him, starting from “Chase” until the end when he asked people to tailor-make the songs for him, you could tell that his taste got higher and higher.
Lam Yik (Lyricist): Perhaps without the burden of music awards or any other elements, he could record songs that he liked. Themes of songs were beyond the basic elements of a pop singer, thus gave me an opportunity to put my imagination and creative ideas into lyrics.
[Song “Blame You for your Beauty” (1996) was played]
Lam Yik: The most unforgettable one was the song “I” at the latter stage of his career. “I” is a song through which he ignored the others and openly sang out words that were from the bottom of his heart, exposing his identity.
[Leslie speaking at the Passion Tour]
Leslie: The theme of “I” is other than knowing how to love each other, the most important thing is to know how to appreciate yourself.
[Song “I” (2000) was sung at the Passion Tour – clip]
Chan Wing Go (Concert Producer): Leslie was a very brave, creative and uptrend performer. He wouldn’t worry whether the audience would accept it or not, ...
[TO BE CONTINUED]
Leslie [excerpt from his radio autobiography]: It therefore began my new stage. I signed up with TVB as its contract singer.
[Song of “Fallen Family” was played]
[Song of “Once an Ordinary Girl” was played]
Lo Kwok Jim: He did not like to follow the contemporary rule of singing a song. According to the term used in Cantonese opera, he was touching the string and then sliding up and down [Note of translator: I believe he means “like striving to not follow the fine balance demanded by Cantonese opera”]. He did not conform completely according to the rhythm.
[Song of “Refuse to Play” was played]
Michael Lai: For those good boys who always stick to the rules it is difficult to rise and become popular. It’s got to be those who, apart from possessing some playful nature, should also be at the same time naughty, because in the artistic field, there is something called “the brush of God”; with that stroke, that splash of red in the picture, like that expression “ah”, it can hit the audience and grab their attention.
[Song of “Monica” was played]
Florence Chan: How popular was “Monica”?
Florence Chan: Because of “Monica”, the sale of his album reached the number of 400,000 copies. Really incredible!
[Song of “Monica” continued to play]
[Karen Mok came out from the backstage]
Karen Mok: I believe Gorgor’s stage charisma is irreplaceable.
Karen Mok: A very important point that he taught me is when standing on the stage, I have to strike a pose, i.e. you have to set up a pose so that all the people’s attention is on you.
[Song “Side Face” was played at the same time.]
Karen Mok: Another golden sentence of Gorgor’s that I like very much is “haau4, leng3, jing4, cyun3”.
[Song of “Red” was played – clip from Red - 1997 Crossover Concert]
Karen Mok: When you have sex appeal, that is “haau3”.
Karen Mok: “leng3” means beauty, it requires no further explanation.
Karen Mok: “jing4” is a kind of manner, apart from your outward appearance.
Karen Mok: For “cyun3”, I think this is the most classic one, i.e. sometimes you yourself do not have to care about what other people think or whether the audience are there supporting you or others, you just ignore their existence [laugh].
Leslie: No one can drive me over the edge and make me quit. If I do not stay in this field any more, it’s because it’s my choice and I will retreat with glory. [excerpt from James Wong et al’s interview of Leslie in 1989]
[Song “Wind Continues to Blow” – clip from Final Encounter (1989) was played]
Florence Chan: Hong Kong was the last stop of Leslie’s 1988 World Tour. During the world tour, he repeatedly told me that, “I feel the pressure is really great. I want to have my own life. I don’t want to do it anymore. I feel that Momoe Yamaguchi (山口百惠) can retire at the age of 21, I can …”. Actually the retirement of Momoe Yamaguchi affected him a lot.
[Song “Fear Not Able to Encounter Again” (1984) was played]
Eliza Chan: I think he was very clever. I think he understood full well that if he continued to stay in the singing field and did not take a break, he could never present yet another fresher image. The only thing that could enable him to establish or breakthrough himself was to take a break.
[Clip of Sam Hui’s Retirement Party was played]
Leslie: I sing here purely because this is a private party, besides, Sam is my favourite artist so tonight I will have to make an exception and sing again.
[Leslie singing “Silence is Golden”]
Narrator: No one would believe that in 1989 when it was the peak of Gorgor’s career, he would make the decision to retreat. As well, no one could foresee that when Gorgor came back from the retreat he would give us so many surprises. [Song “Silence of Golden” goes on]
[Song “Chase” was playing] Gorgor came back to the singing field in 1995
Hui Yuen (Musician): When he returned and was involved in music recording, he didn't have the burden of being a pop idol. His artistic pursuit became higher.
[Leslie at music studio with Hui Yuen]
Hui Yuen: You could see that the songs he chose or the songs that he invited others to write for him, starting from “Chase” until the end when he asked people to tailor-make the songs for him, you could tell that his taste got higher and higher.
Lam Yik (Lyricist): Perhaps without the burden of music awards or any other elements, he could record songs that he liked. Themes of songs were beyond the basic elements of a pop singer, thus gave me an opportunity to put my imagination and creative ideas into lyrics.
[Song “Blame You for your Beauty” (1996) was played]
Lam Yik: The most unforgettable one was the song “I” at the latter stage of his career. “I” is a song through which he ignored the others and openly sang out words that were from the bottom of his heart, exposing his identity.
[Leslie speaking at the Passion Tour]
Leslie: The theme of “I” is other than knowing how to love each other, the most important thing is to know how to appreciate yourself.
[Song “I” (2000) was sung at the Passion Tour – clip]
Chan Wing Go (Concert Producer): Leslie was a very brave, creative and uptrend performer. He wouldn’t worry whether the audience would accept it or not, ...
[TO BE CONTINUED]
Lasting Legend - Leslie Cheung (Part 3)
Part 3 from YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sb-qr3K2bE&feature=related
Chan Wing Go: He wouldn’t worry whether the audience would accept it or not. He wanted to let his fans and audience know, in his heart, what kind of a person he was.
[Clip of opening song at Passion Tour 2000]
Florence Chan: Passion Tour was a very daring attempt. I remember that at that time, after the media watched the performance, we met them face to face. They all praised that the performance was great. However, the next day when I looked at the newspapers, the facts were twisted, they smeared Leslie’s image badly. [Paper clippings shown]
Eliza Chan: I immediately surfed the internet to take a look, and I said, “What's he doing?” At that time, he was wearing a beard and long hair.
[Song “Big Heat”, clip from Passion Tour was played]
Eliza Chan: When I returned to Hong Kong, the first thing I did was go to his concert. After watching that, I felt that he had insight and guts. On stage, it is a must to have good singing and dancing skill, but the requirements he set for himself on stage and his ability to walk a new path so nicely, I think probably there won't be another one after him.
[Song “Big Heat”, clip from Passion Tour continued to play]
[Lok Fung sorting out her pictures of Leslie with background music “Spring Summer Autumn Winter]
Lok Fung (Professor, author): I don’t know if other people will agree with me or not, yet I insist that in eight to ten years time when we talk of Hong Kong culture we will talk of Leslie Cheung still and realize that he is a very important component.
[Song “And Who Else” was played]
[Lok Fung opening the door of her office]
Lok Fung: There is one here also.
Lok Fung: He was a pop singer, thus could not break away from the production mode of the pop industry, for example markets, statistics, yet he would find some gap or space to do something that he wanted to do, making some special elements that he believed could be changed and varied, to go beyond the norm and exhibit them on stage, for example, man can express and show the feminine side, or perhaps whether we need to change or broaden our views a bit towards men and women.
[Clip of song from Passion Tour was played 03:10 of 08:52]
Lok Fung: Since he could do it, then why don’t we show more people or make an in-depth study? I am really interested to know how the cultural environment of Hong Kong could produce someone like him, I am really interested in finding this out. I could say that I use my own way to understand him, but this does not mean that that is him. Artists do not want to be understood; because then they can retain some mystery. It would not be fun if we know everything. If Gorgor said to me one day that he was not as I wrote him to be, then I would smile and say I understand why you say that.
[Clip of dance at TVB Variety Show in 1984]
[Clip of 2001 Hong Kong Movies Award Ceremony]
Leslie: Having been in this field for so many years, without realizing it, I have made almost 70 films. In these 70 films, I have played many different roles, such as, a weak scholar who bumped into a ghost, a swordsman who escaped to the desert from love, a Dan [female Peking opera leading actress] played by a man, Master Twelve, as to more modern ones, a cold-blooded killer, and many many more.
[Clips of various movies were played]
Karen Mok: This is “Viva Erotica”, filmed in 1996. That was my first time officially collaborating with Gorgor. At that time, I could not believe I would have the chance to play with my own idol. In it, I played as his girlfriend, there was also a love scene.
[Clip from “Viva Erotica” was played]
Karen Mok: Of course, apart from playing the role as my boyfriend, we would never forget Gorgor’s other excellent performing skills that we saw on big screen.
[Clip from “A Better Tomorrow” was played]
[Clip from 22nd Ten Golden Songs Award with Gorgor singing the theme song of “A Better Tomorrow” and Ti Lung presenting him a scarf.]
Ti Lung (Actor): In “A Better Tomorrow”, I collaborated with Chow Yun Fat and Leslie. It produced a very outstanding result, and our collaboration created a spark.
[Clip from “A Better Tomorrow” continued to play]
Tsui Hark (Director): In “A Better Tomorrow”, the role of the younger brother was a very important one. At that time, Leslie came to mind immediately when we thought of the candidate for that role. He was the best choice and no one else.
[Clip of "A Better Tomorrow" continued to play]
Tsui Hark: The elder brother was in prison and the whole family was ruined as a result of his past profession, so when the younger brother became a policeman, his mentality was very unbalanced. The role of a young man with an image of rebellion was most suitable for Leslie. Probably someone has already mentioned that the expression in his eye was very similar to that of James Dean’s. Actually eye expression of this type has a kind of lethal force to ordinary people, but after you knew him well, you would feel that it was a very special kind of charisma and charm. Thereafter at that time, when we filmed “A Chinese Ghost Story”, the first thing we had to do was to pull Leslie closer to the audience.
[Clip of “A Chinese Ghost Story” was played]
Ching Siu Tung (Director): Actually, there was a scene I especially like, which is when both of them were in the water. Although they seemed to be kissing, actually they were trying to pass oxygen from one to the other.
[Clip of “A Chinese Ghost Story” was played]
Ching Siu Tung: I originally estimated that it would be a difficult scene to shoot, yet when it was filmed, it only took two takes and eventually we used the one that was taken the first time, that is to say, he could immediately handle that kind of feeling – the romantic feeling when he and Joey Wong were kissing in the water.
[Clip of “A Chinese Ghost Story” was played with Sally Yep singing the song]
Stanley Kwan (Director): I believe that I am not the only person who has the feeling that Leslie has an air of royalty about him.
[Clip of “Rouge” was played]
Stanley Kwan: His facial feature, his manner and movements all carried a kind of scholarly gracefulness and an air of sophistication.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
Chan Wing Go: He wouldn’t worry whether the audience would accept it or not. He wanted to let his fans and audience know, in his heart, what kind of a person he was.
[Clip of opening song at Passion Tour 2000]
Florence Chan: Passion Tour was a very daring attempt. I remember that at that time, after the media watched the performance, we met them face to face. They all praised that the performance was great. However, the next day when I looked at the newspapers, the facts were twisted, they smeared Leslie’s image badly. [Paper clippings shown]
Eliza Chan: I immediately surfed the internet to take a look, and I said, “What's he doing?” At that time, he was wearing a beard and long hair.
[Song “Big Heat”, clip from Passion Tour was played]
Eliza Chan: When I returned to Hong Kong, the first thing I did was go to his concert. After watching that, I felt that he had insight and guts. On stage, it is a must to have good singing and dancing skill, but the requirements he set for himself on stage and his ability to walk a new path so nicely, I think probably there won't be another one after him.
[Song “Big Heat”, clip from Passion Tour continued to play]
[Lok Fung sorting out her pictures of Leslie with background music “Spring Summer Autumn Winter]
Lok Fung (Professor, author): I don’t know if other people will agree with me or not, yet I insist that in eight to ten years time when we talk of Hong Kong culture we will talk of Leslie Cheung still and realize that he is a very important component.
[Song “And Who Else” was played]
[Lok Fung opening the door of her office]
Lok Fung: There is one here also.
Lok Fung: He was a pop singer, thus could not break away from the production mode of the pop industry, for example markets, statistics, yet he would find some gap or space to do something that he wanted to do, making some special elements that he believed could be changed and varied, to go beyond the norm and exhibit them on stage, for example, man can express and show the feminine side, or perhaps whether we need to change or broaden our views a bit towards men and women.
[Clip of song from Passion Tour was played 03:10 of 08:52]
Lok Fung: Since he could do it, then why don’t we show more people or make an in-depth study? I am really interested to know how the cultural environment of Hong Kong could produce someone like him, I am really interested in finding this out. I could say that I use my own way to understand him, but this does not mean that that is him. Artists do not want to be understood; because then they can retain some mystery. It would not be fun if we know everything. If Gorgor said to me one day that he was not as I wrote him to be, then I would smile and say I understand why you say that.
[Clip of dance at TVB Variety Show in 1984]
[Clip of 2001 Hong Kong Movies Award Ceremony]
Leslie: Having been in this field for so many years, without realizing it, I have made almost 70 films. In these 70 films, I have played many different roles, such as, a weak scholar who bumped into a ghost, a swordsman who escaped to the desert from love, a Dan [female Peking opera leading actress] played by a man, Master Twelve, as to more modern ones, a cold-blooded killer, and many many more.
[Clips of various movies were played]
Karen Mok: This is “Viva Erotica”, filmed in 1996. That was my first time officially collaborating with Gorgor. At that time, I could not believe I would have the chance to play with my own idol. In it, I played as his girlfriend, there was also a love scene.
[Clip from “Viva Erotica” was played]
Karen Mok: Of course, apart from playing the role as my boyfriend, we would never forget Gorgor’s other excellent performing skills that we saw on big screen.
[Clip from “A Better Tomorrow” was played]
[Clip from 22nd Ten Golden Songs Award with Gorgor singing the theme song of “A Better Tomorrow” and Ti Lung presenting him a scarf.]
Ti Lung (Actor): In “A Better Tomorrow”, I collaborated with Chow Yun Fat and Leslie. It produced a very outstanding result, and our collaboration created a spark.
[Clip from “A Better Tomorrow” continued to play]
Tsui Hark (Director): In “A Better Tomorrow”, the role of the younger brother was a very important one. At that time, Leslie came to mind immediately when we thought of the candidate for that role. He was the best choice and no one else.
[Clip of "A Better Tomorrow" continued to play]
Tsui Hark: The elder brother was in prison and the whole family was ruined as a result of his past profession, so when the younger brother became a policeman, his mentality was very unbalanced. The role of a young man with an image of rebellion was most suitable for Leslie. Probably someone has already mentioned that the expression in his eye was very similar to that of James Dean’s. Actually eye expression of this type has a kind of lethal force to ordinary people, but after you knew him well, you would feel that it was a very special kind of charisma and charm. Thereafter at that time, when we filmed “A Chinese Ghost Story”, the first thing we had to do was to pull Leslie closer to the audience.
[Clip of “A Chinese Ghost Story” was played]
Ching Siu Tung (Director): Actually, there was a scene I especially like, which is when both of them were in the water. Although they seemed to be kissing, actually they were trying to pass oxygen from one to the other.
[Clip of “A Chinese Ghost Story” was played]
Ching Siu Tung: I originally estimated that it would be a difficult scene to shoot, yet when it was filmed, it only took two takes and eventually we used the one that was taken the first time, that is to say, he could immediately handle that kind of feeling – the romantic feeling when he and Joey Wong were kissing in the water.
[Clip of “A Chinese Ghost Story” was played with Sally Yep singing the song]
Stanley Kwan (Director): I believe that I am not the only person who has the feeling that Leslie has an air of royalty about him.
[Clip of “Rouge” was played]
Stanley Kwan: His facial feature, his manner and movements all carried a kind of scholarly gracefulness and an air of sophistication.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
Lasting Legend - Leslie Cheung (Part 4)
Part 4 from YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0gVY2ycE4E&feature=related
Stanley Kwan: His facial feature, his manner and movements all carried a kind of scholarly gracefulness and an air of sophistication. [Clip from “Rouge” was playing]
Stanley Kwan: Apart from an air of sophistication, inside him, I believe, he possessed a very special quality: a feeling of softness and femininity. This special quality fitted well into his role. When he was old at the end of the movie, he made you feel that he was living a frustrated life and did not even have Fleur’s courage to face death, etc. It is because of this special quality in Leslie that it injected into the character a sense of doubt and puzzlement, thus enriching the character a great deal.
[Clip of “Days of Being Wild” (1990) was played with Yuddy dancing]
Wong Ka-Wai: For Leslie Cheung, actually I like his past works more than those he made at the later part of his career. Many many years ago, I saw an episode he made for the RTHK “The Woman in My House”. At that time, I felt that Leslie was very special. [Clip of “The Woman in My House” was played.] He was not a super singer then. Afterwards he started to become popular, and took part in the shooting of movies, such as “A Chinese Ghost Story”, “A Better Tomorrow”. His performance at that time made me feel that he was over confident, giving you an impression that he was trying to demonstrate the skill of acting. That was not what I like. [Clip of “Days of Being Wild” was played] So when we started to collaborate, I told him to restrain a bit and not to treat acting as a kind of performance.
Stanley Kwan: Director Wong Ka Wai has really explored the deeper part and innermost world of Leslie, something that we could not see ourselves.
[Clip of “DOBW” was played – segment of Poon Dik Wah talking to Yuddy]
Poon Dik Wah (Singer/Actress): That role was not easy to play, but Leslie was perfect for it. He had that gaze and mentality. At that era, there was no one else who could play this role except Leslie.
Narrator: “Day of Being Wild” has brought Leslie his first Best Actor Award, but to take his performing skills and charisma to the international stage, it is the following movie which must be mentioned.
[Clip showing Leslie, Tsui Fung, Chen Kaige at the Cannes Festival]
[Yokohama, Japan]
Ginice (Hong Kong fans): Here is the venue in Yokohama Japan where the “Farewell To My Concubine” Art Exhibit is being held. The exhibition had already been taken place once in Hong Kong and once in Shanghai before coming here. This time, the Hong Kong and Japanese fans collaborated together and this exhibition has been officially approved as part of the ‘Year of Chinese-Nippon Cultural and Sporting Exchange 2007’.
[Clip of “FTMC” was played]
Franny (Japanese fans): For Leslie and his fans, “Farewell To My Concubine” is a very meaningful movie. After having learned of the Peking opera and Chinese people through this movie, one will have special passion, feeling and interest for this movie.
[Clip of “Farewell To My Concubine” continued to play]
Ginice: This is a Peking opera mock stage. In the centre behind this embroidery, there is a screen so that every hour, clips and production high-lights can be played.
Ginice: This is the poster for the metro stations in France. [The poster was showed]
Ginice: This is the cinema poster displayed in Spain. [The poster was showed]
Ginice: Original script of the movie. [The script was showed]
Ginice: The fan really took it to her heart; she has saved the ticket of the movie. [showing the cinema ticket]
Ginice: You can see that this is the make-up room at the Peking opera backstage.
Ginice: This is his set of hair ornaments.
Franny: For us, the main purpose is after the visitors return home from this exhibition, they will watch this wonderful movie “Farewell To My Concubine” again. Of course, another main purpose is for more people to learn of and then find out more about Leslie who was such a wonderful artist.
Male Japanese Fan: From a man’s point of view, I feel that Leslie had his soft side, yet at the same time, he possessed the charm of a man, and very handsome.
Female Japanese Fan: Leslie definitely was a super actor. I respect him all the time.
Female Japanese Fan: After I knew Leslie, he changed my life. I become more enthusiastic about everything. In the past, I only cared about Japan or the things happening in Japan, but after knowing Leslie, things have changed, I will watch Hong Kong movies, [paper clips about Farewell To My Concubine was played], and am interested in things about Hong Kong. This has widened my views towards the world.
[Song of “A Thousand Dream of You” was played when Leslie spoke]
Leslie: Movie is a team work, but under the guidance of a good director, the roles that some actors play on the screen may become unforgettable, as if having given them life. [Clips of various movies were played]
Leslie: Therefore a good actor may give himself countless numbers of lifes.
[Clip of “Viva Erotica” was played and Gorgor asked whether the movie was well directed]
Karen Mok: On April 1, 2003, the April Fool Day, something that was most unbelievable happened.
Voice of News Anchor: At the evening, Actor Leslie Cheung fell down from a hotel in Central and died. He was 46. According to the police, Leslie Cheung fell down at around 6 p.m. from the Oriental Mandarin Hotel in Central and was sent to the Queen Mary Hospital.
[Song of “Fearless of Loneliness” and clip of Gorgor’s funeral was played]
Karen Mok: It is very hard to describe this incident. Feeling that it was very unreal; something that was impossible to happen.
Lam Yik: Until now, I still haven’t got the nerve to listen to his songs at home again.
Poon Dik Wah: I feel it is a pity, and I miss him very much. Because now, don’t just say now, even in the past, there was no one like him in the singing field.
[Showing paper clip with a headline of depression being the possible cause of death]
[TO BE CONTINUED]
Lasting Legend - Leslie Cheung (Part 5)
Part 5 from YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yugbJkDgw4&feature=related
Florence Chan: He had never given himself up. After he got this illness, he had persisted and struggled for a long time. But most unfortunate, at the end, this tragedy happened. This was not his decision.
Ti Lung: A tragedy; a tragic persona. Don’t stir up any more unhappy recollection. Let’s only remember the happy moments of him.
[Fans counting down at Avenue of Stars on September 12, 2007, Leslie’s birthday]
Fans: Let’s sing Happy Birthday together.
[Clips of Leslie’s birthday party intertwined with gathering at Avenue of Stars]
Yan: Today is September 12, 2007, we have a birthday party for our most beloved Leslie Cheung. We wish that by means of this birthday party, we may link up all the fans together to continue Gorgor’s spirits, as well as look at video clips that we may not have the chance to see before. Although Gorgor has left us for so many years, in our hearts, he is always with us.
[Song “No Need for More” was played, as well as clip of Wax Museum]
Male Fan from Taiwan: My whole family is his super fans.
Singaporean Fan: In Singapore, I started to like him after watching one of his TV episodes “Gone With the Wind”.
[Song “Going Through Together” was played; screen showing “Old Main Street, Aberdeen”]
Leslie: I hope that all of you will support me on this fundraiser, okay? I can tell you, donations received from these cards will all go to the Kids Cancer Foundation. The proceeds have now reached $600,000 from the first performance to now, i.e. the twentieth performance.
[Clip showing volunteers of Friends of Gorgor visiting elderlies]
Representative of Friends of Gorgor: Because the impression that Gorgor gave us is truth, kindness and beauty. His kindness was well known to everyone because very often at his concerts he would raise money for the cancer foundation. [Clip of Red 1997 Crossover Concert was played]
Rep.: We want to extend his kindness to those who are in need. Apart from the ability to help, we can also broaden our vision.
[China, Dalian]
Ashley Yao: Today, at the Dalian Light Industry Polytechnic University, we are holding the Remembering Leslie Cheung Movie Show. Throughout the year of 2004 in 13 provinces, over 90 movie shows had been held in 20 high schools. I feel that by using this format, we may spread Gorgor’s artistic achievement. I feel that as an actor, his artistic achievement will last forever and stand the test of time. Therefore although he is not here anymore, we will never give up but keep on playing his movies in order to spread his artistic achievement everywhere and generations to come.
Female Chinese Fan: I feel that he was really talented.
Female Chinese Fan: He was very talented and very diligent. He was a role model to us, the university students.
Male Chinese Fan: I do like him. I believe I will try to find out more about his movies.
[Clip of Red 1997 Crossover Concert was played]
Ashley Yao: After he passed away, I felt very regretful because, for example, when I attended his concert in the past, he shouted from the stage asking people to all stand up and dance because theyhad promised him that they would, maybe I was the only one in the whole stadium who remained seated. At that time, I felt that even if I clapped my hands, he might not be able to hear it; and if I screamed, he might not see it, it was meaningless to do so. Now that I think about it, I feel that loving someone you should express it and let him know right away. He had given so much to the world, surely he would love to see some returns wishing that we would express them out right. Besides, he has left us so many things, we cannot merely look at them once. We should help him to let more people know about them.
Florence Chan: These albums were made by Gorgor’s fans in Mainland China. They made them with hearts.
[Showing the albums]
Florence Chan: These were pictures taken when we first met with names of places and people. Some of the pictures were new to me. Here, it was taken on November 26, 2001 when we were watching Elton John’s concert. For me, I couldn’t remember that was taken at Elton John’s concert. They would collect all these memorabilia. Really with a lot of hearts.
Florence Chan: In all these years, there are so many people who love him so dearly, [weeping] have done so much for him.
[Running clips of memorial events]
Florence Chan: I wish that next year (2008) I can produce a memorial concert to remember him. Originally, I was planning to do a memorial concert in the 10th anniversary of his death so that I may probably do it better, but who can tell what will happen in ten years, I don’t know whether I am still alive at that time. I don’t want to leave this world with regrets.
[Clip from “Days of Being Wild” was played. Leslie: Because of you, I will remember that minute. From now on, we are friends of one minute. This is a fact, you can’t take it back.]
Karen Mok looking at her watch, while Leslie was saying [audio clip from his 1985 radio autobiography]: In the future days to come, I will do more things to make you feel that in my artistic life I can give you what you want, because in this showbiz, I will not be staying for too long. I will only work for a while and then retreat. But before the arrival of such a date, I really wish that I can make everyone of you remember me, try not to forget me. I can only say that I am very grateful for your support. Thank you.
[Karen Mok laying a red rose on the floor of the stage.]
-END-
[Special thanks to Jackie for editing]
Friday, January 11, 2008
Gorgor’s Old Diary
Posted by 滴血怨毒
Date 2003-02-02 14:01:41
Downloaded from http://bbs.ent.163.com/bbs/zhangguorong/107876.html
Translated by Daydreamer on January 11, 2008
Gorgor’s Old Diary (My New Year Gift)
Author's notes: The New Year has arrived, a time to get rid of the old stuff and welcome the new ones. I do not know what new stuff I am expecting, but there are plenty of old stuff. The first day of the new year, my friend called me and I went to his place. There I saw him holding an old magazine. He said he found this magazine from his drawer and this would surely bring him luck in the year of the goat. This magazine was an 1989 issue, volume 4, of the “Overseas Stars”. With my shaking hands, I turned the page to page 173 and saw "Diary of the Star – Leslie Cheung" (1988, 8, 28-9, 3).
Sunday
Just finished the 23 performances. I was totally relieved but suffered from insomnia. Perhaps it was the consequence of having spent one whole month at the Hung Hom Coliseum. Now that everything is back to normal, inevitably there is a sense of void or emptiness. Actually the 23 performances did not make me feel tired, on the contrary, I feel really exhausted after finishing them because I could not hear the whistles and screams of the fans any more.
Monday 
I attended the press conference of Michael Lai’s "Michael Lai and Friends Concert". This concert will be held in November at the Hung Hom Coliseum in which I will sing with Jacky Chan, Anita Mui and David Lui Fong for approximately twenty minutes every night. Originally I planned to not performing any more this year, however, in view of my friendship with Michael and that the first song "Chasing" that I sang was composed by him, I will do so as an exception.
[Note by Translator: See http://www.lesliecheung.cc/Concert/Michaelai/report(eng)/report(eng).htm, a report by a fan who attended the concert.]
Tuesday
I had purchased a property in London two years ago. At that time, it worth £400,000, and now the price has gone up to £450,000. During these three years, the price of the properties in London has gone up and the sterling pounds are staying strong, therefore, purchasing properties in London as an investment is a wise decision. In a short while, I will travel to Europe. Vienna is going to be my first stop where I will watch some operas. Then I will go to Paris as well as London where I will purchase property and go to the theatres. London is a place that I will definitely stop by because I have already scheduled to meet with George Lam there. A real estate broker will be there to show him some properties for consideration.
Wednesday
Apart from making movies, I very much enjoy travelling, reading, and watching people. Travelling may allow us to look at and know more of the outside world, reading may increase our knowledge, and observing people may help me to understand human nature more. Actually, each individual is like a book himself having his own story. Looking at one’s outward appearance is like looking at the cover of a book. Then after further contact and communication, you will feel as if reading the contents of that book. Very interesting.
Thursday
To live solidly is the best attitude towards life. One has to live with pride, and has to know how to distinguish between good and bad, right and wrong and never does anything that is bad and incorrect. [NOTE by author: this is a quote from "Mencius"] [NOTE by translator: Mencius, born 372-289 BCE(?), was a Chinese philosopher who was arguably the most famous Confuscian after Confucius himself.] I am in favour of the theory of “rather go without than have something shoddy”. Therefore I do not have a lot of friends but they are all good ones.
Friday
In order to take good care of my vocal cord, I avoided consuming cold and stimulating food. Also, I tried to sleep for 10 hours each night. Now that the concerts were over, I may change my lifestyle a bit. I may eat wholeheartedly and also play majong with my friends. However, I still cannot shake away the sense of loss as I really miss the Hung Hom Coliseum.
Saturday
The world-renowned international Broadway opera "CATS" is planning to perform in Hong Kong. The person-in-charge invited me to play one of the important characters about which I am really excited. The only downside is that one has to leave Hong Kong and go to New York in 1989 to train for one year.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Interview of Leslie by Barbara Yung Mei Ling in 1985(?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGh7_D5UpH8&feature=related
Translated by Daydreamer on January 9, 2008
BY = Barbara Yung Mei Ling
LC = Leslie Cheung
[Yung entering the studio]
LC: I thought an extra terrestian has arrived to visit me, Yung Mei Ling, what’s up?
BY: I am here to convey a good news.
LC: Good news? What good news?
BY: Your song “Wind Continues to Blow” has been nominated as one the Jade Solid Gold songs in the second seasonal awards.
LC: Really!
BY: Are you happy about it?
LC: Sure.
BY: What has been keeping you busy lately?
LC: Apart from working on some movies, I have just finished recording a new record. In the past, the songs that I sang carried heavy influence of western and Japanese pop music, but the songs in this new record of mine will have a greater emphasis on Chinese music.
BY: I believe it must be very pleasant to listen to. In the meantime, let’s listen to the song “Wind Continues to Blow”.
Monday, January 07, 2008
NEWS - Stars to pay tribute to Gorgor at the Coliseum
Oriental Daily Newspaper
07/01/2008
Downloaded from http://community.lesliecheung.cc/guestbook/post
Translated by Daydreamer on January 6, 2008
In 84 days, it will be April 1, 2008, the fifth anniversary of Leslie’s death. Florence Chan has called on Jacky Cheung, Tony Leung (Chiu Wai), Corina Lau, Karen Mok, Elisa Chan, the Grasshopper, Eason Chan, etc. to perform in a big memorial show in the Coliseum to commemorate Leslie.
Time flies, Gorgor has left us for five years now, however, his good friends and thousands of fan friends still remember him fondly. In view of this, Florence Chan has quietly created an idea to hold ten performances in different parts of the world from April 1 (his death anniversary) to September 12 (his birth anniversary) to commemorate him, with performances on April 1 and September 12 to be held in Hong Kong. Like the lyrics in “Left Right Hand”: “You have left us, yet scattered all over the places”.
Florence Chan to Make the First Move
According to the sources, Florence Chan has successfully booked the Hong Kong Hung Hom Coliseum for April 1st in order to hold the commemorate activity and has invited Gorgor’s good friends in the showbiz to partake. Our reporter called Mrs. Chan and she confirmed that she is in the process of contacting Gorgor’s good friends but the list of people who will be performing is still at its preliminary stage. Since Mrs. Chan is busy with Jacky Chan’s world tour performance right now, so far she has only invited some of Gorgor’s good friends. She said, “For friends whom I haven’t already contacted, I hope they will understand my situation and take the initiative to contact me instead.”
Mrs. Chan guarantees that she will put in all her heart and efforts into this production. She said, “It will be in a form of musical concert, all the songs will have something to do with Gorgor. (Then what will Tony Leung and Corina Lau perform?) Nothing is confirmed yet, but surely they will perform something. (Will Gorgor’s good friend Daffy Tong be attending?) I will first work on the rundown. Nothing is clear as yet.”
Activities in China, Hong Kong and Japan
Apart from Hong Kong, Mrs. Chan also plan to hold memorial activities in other places. “Because fans from other places all have hearts, so my goal is to hold ten performances going to places that Gorgor loved, including Japan, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, etc. Japanese fans are very sentimental. Every year, they fold many paper cranes and delivered to Gorgor’s house; Hangzhou was where Leslie filmed his last photo album book, therefore, it has special meaning. Both death and birth anniversaries will be held in Hong Kong, however, since the Colliseum will be closed on September 1st, therefore, we will have to look for alternate venue.
Reported by Music Group
07/01/2008
Downloaded from http://community.lesliecheung.cc/guestbook/post
Translated by Daydreamer on January 6, 2008
In 84 days, it will be April 1, 2008, the fifth anniversary of Leslie’s death. Florence Chan has called on Jacky Cheung, Tony Leung (Chiu Wai), Corina Lau, Karen Mok, Elisa Chan, the Grasshopper, Eason Chan, etc. to perform in a big memorial show in the Coliseum to commemorate Leslie.
Time flies, Gorgor has left us for five years now, however, his good friends and thousands of fan friends still remember him fondly. In view of this, Florence Chan has quietly created an idea to hold ten performances in different parts of the world from April 1 (his death anniversary) to September 12 (his birth anniversary) to commemorate him, with performances on April 1 and September 12 to be held in Hong Kong. Like the lyrics in “Left Right Hand”: “You have left us, yet scattered all over the places”.
Florence Chan to Make the First Move
According to the sources, Florence Chan has successfully booked the Hong Kong Hung Hom Coliseum for April 1st in order to hold the commemorate activity and has invited Gorgor’s good friends in the showbiz to partake. Our reporter called Mrs. Chan and she confirmed that she is in the process of contacting Gorgor’s good friends but the list of people who will be performing is still at its preliminary stage. Since Mrs. Chan is busy with Jacky Chan’s world tour performance right now, so far she has only invited some of Gorgor’s good friends. She said, “For friends whom I haven’t already contacted, I hope they will understand my situation and take the initiative to contact me instead.”
Mrs. Chan guarantees that she will put in all her heart and efforts into this production. She said, “It will be in a form of musical concert, all the songs will have something to do with Gorgor. (Then what will Tony Leung and Corina Lau perform?) Nothing is confirmed yet, but surely they will perform something. (Will Gorgor’s good friend Daffy Tong be attending?) I will first work on the rundown. Nothing is clear as yet.”
Activities in China, Hong Kong and Japan
Apart from Hong Kong, Mrs. Chan also plan to hold memorial activities in other places. “Because fans from other places all have hearts, so my goal is to hold ten performances going to places that Gorgor loved, including Japan, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, etc. Japanese fans are very sentimental. Every year, they fold many paper cranes and delivered to Gorgor’s house; Hangzhou was where Leslie filmed his last photo album book, therefore, it has special meaning. Both death and birth anniversaries will be held in Hong Kong, however, since the Colliseum will be closed on September 1st, therefore, we will have to look for alternate venue.
Reported by Music Group
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Interview in 1984 with a DJ Blanche Tang (Tang Oi Lam) at RTHK
Translated by Devoted Fan
Day 1 of Interview
Host: Today we have my good friend here with us, Cheung Kwok Wing.
Host: I have known Cheung Kwok Wing for about 7 to 8 years now. When I first met Leslie, my impression of him was that of a very lively, upbeat and happy kid. When we talked, he would often laugh heartily or have exaggerated body language. But after many years of not seeing him, my impression of him these days is completely different. These days Leslie brings a gentle, quiet and mature disposition. He is very careful and refined with what he says. He has lost that exaggerated body language, but has gained something which many of us have come to know as a ‘sense of melancholy’.
Host: I think most people still remember the first time they heard of Cheung Kwok Wing. It was during your Asian Amateur singing contest at RTV.
Leslie: It was during an Asian Amateur singing contest. I was wearing my little red boots and bouncing around on stage singing ‘American Pie’.
Host: At that time, what made you join the singing contest?
Leslie: I was studying in England, but I didn’t finish my schooling yet. Then my dad got sick, so I returned home to Hong Kong. I guess when a person gets old, they are afraid of dying so my dad wanted me to stay. It was actually pretty disappointing, because I was awarded a scholarship at the time in textiles in England, but since I can’t return there, I had to linger on in Hong Kong. Then a friend of mine told me about a singing competition and since he knew I always liked to sing, he thought we should go and just have fun with it. I said ‘No, that’s okay but I will go with you and you can sign yourself up to enter the contest’. But my friend put in the $5 and signed me up too. At that time it was very inexpensive, just $5. I was able to stay in the competition and made it to the final round.
Host: Do you think fate played a role in it?
Leslie: Yes, fate played a very important role. If you look at all the courses I was studying, they had nothing to do with show business. If I really had an interest in show business, I would have studied Music when I was overseas, but that was not the case. In the end, there was no way of escaping my destiny to be in show business. (laughing)
Host: How old were you when you first left Hong Kong?
Leslie: I was 13 years old. I was really something. I only had one relative there. I flew to England on my own. I didn’t know the person who came to pick me up at the airport, he held up a sign so I could find him, it was like going on a blind date with someone holding up a photo. Something funny happened on my flight there. I remember that was my first time on a plane. I had no prior experience on a plane. I sat in the middle section of a jumbo 747 cargo plane. Because of financial reasons, back then most parents put their kids on chartered planes when they fly overseas. They figure there is no need for us, young students to travel so extravagantly, so most of us flew on chartered planes. I think the airline was called “Laker”. At the time, if you flew by chartered planes, ‘Laker’ was the most well known one. The person who sat next to me studied at ‘Sun Fat’ (a prestigious private school in HK) He was full of confidence because he was an experienced jetsetter, but I was so nervous with sweaty palms because we were so high up in the sky. Shortly after we boarded, the movie projector fell and made a loud noise, and four wires were dangling out and swinging around. Once our plane settled into the clouds, then the stewardess came over to fix it.
Host: Wow, it was very rickety.
Leslie: Yes
LESLIE’S SONG “THE DRUMMER” STARTS TO PLAY
Host: You left your parents and family at the age of 13 and went to England alone. What was the reason? Was it something your parents had always planned for you? Or was it your own idea?
Leslie: Well, when I was younger I was rather naughty in school. Other than my English class, I wasn’t very good with other subjects, especially Mathematics. My dad was worried that my math was so poor going into secondary school. And at that time, it was pretty popular to send your kids overseas for schooling, and it was considered very glorious back then, thinking back now, it’s almost ten years ago. (Leslie laughs). My dad asked me if I was interested in going to England, and I said ‘Okay’ so I send in my application and I got a response pretty fast. I remember well that was the year I had to repeat the same Form over because I failed math. That was the year Hong Kong switched from “old math” to “new math” (conversion to metric system). I was so lost. So when my dad found out I didn’t pass math and had to repeat the same grade over, he thought it wasn’t such a bad idea for me to study overseas for a few years, and I agreed. I received my failing report card in mid-July, and in mid-August I sent in my application to England, and by the end of August, I rushed off to England. I remember my first night there. The school felt so big. I was not in London. I was in Essex, which is very remote and rural. It was a boarding school. That first night no one had arrived yet, so I slept in a dormitory room alone with 16 beds. I didn’t get emotional, and I remember when I left Hong Kong I didn’t feel homesick either. At the airport, I said my goodbyes and left. You know how mothers are. My mom was crying as she was reminding me to study hard. The first time I felt homesick was two weeks after I arrived in England. I was on a train going to town with some friends. We sat in the last car, and as I watched the smoke flow out of the train, it was at that moment I realized how far away I was from home. And that was the first time I started to miss my family.
Host: Like you said, many Hong Kong parents believe if they send their kids overseas to get an education, when they return home, they will be all set. At such a young age, don’t you think there is a good chance they may turn into a juvenile delinquent?
Leslie: My mom and dad are fortunate because I didn’t turn into a juvenile delinquent. I remember I was very young when I got there, and so sometimes I was bullied by the seniors. My first year in England, I was a junior which is equivalent to lower 4th. It is a different system from U.S. and Canada where they go by Grades, not Forms. In England, it was lower 4th, followed by upper 4th and 5th form is O Level. I skipped a few forms when I got to England. If I had stayed in Hong Kong, I would have been in Form 1 but when I got to England, I skipped straight into the equivalent of Form 3/Form 4. When I got there, I had some problem with English but my math was okay. I didn’t turn into a delinquent, but instead I got a chance to see more of things, because I had to become self reliant, for example I had to buy my own train ticket to town. I learnt a lot about being independent. When I was in Hong Kong I didn’t play much sports, but in England I played soccer and rugby because these were compulsory in school.
Host: Cheung Kwok Wing comes from a family of 7 kids, and he is the youngest. Many friends know that prior to his retirement; Cheung Kwok Wing’s dad owned a tailor shop. He was well recognized in his field. Some of you may already know that Cheung Kwok Wing’s oldest sister, Cheung Luk Ping is an active member of the Consumer Affairs Committee. Leslie, how is your relationship with your family?
Leslie: It is very good. My relationship with her is very good; because I am the youngest, in their eyes, I will always be the baby in the family so even now that we are all grown up, I still talk to her on the telephone two or three times a week and sometimes we dine together or we go places together. In December, I will be holding my concert in Thailand. There is a good possibility that my whole family will come along too to show their support, and also to vacation there because the last time I went to Thailand, I discovered a place called ‘Phuket’, a beautiful place with mountain and water, so this time we will all go together to enjoy it.
Host: Wow! Just listening to you, Cheung Kwok Wing had a very good family and surrounding during your young days.
Leslie: Not really. It was just an upper middle-class family. It was not really that good.
SONG – ‘I WANT TO BREAK FREE’ STARTS TO PLAY
Host: There is a saying that when a person has good looks, that gives them a huge advantage in this world. Through many experimental studies in psychology, it has been proven to be the case. I think we all know in our hearts that there is no denying that Leslie Cheung definitely has some beautiful features. (Leslie laughs softly in the background). You are the youngest at home with many older brothers and sisters before you and I can just imagine a young Cheung Kwok Wing must have been very cute and handsome.
Leslie: I was chubby.
Host: (laughs) A chubby kid?
Leslie: I was a roly-poly.
Host: Do you feel that people all around you have always been exceptionally nice to you when you were growing up? For example, during your school days, were the teachers in school exceptionally nice to you? And when you have grown up people are also exceptionally nice towards you.
Leslie: Teachers?(he laughs) It depends on the subject. Like I said, my mathematics teacher must think I am very dumb, but generally speaking my English teachers really liked me because my essays usually get posted on the bulletin board. I like to exaggerate you know, when I was young, I like to exaggerate. Ahh…well, not really, sometimes good looks can be a disadvantage. When a guy is exceedingly good looking, people may not like it. Some people don’t like good-looking folks; probably because they are envious and jealous or perhaps this type of look is simply not their cup of tea; maybe they prefer the more rugged look. As for me, I would rather focus on the inner substance rather than the outward appearance because I feel that physical beauty can disappear very quickly anytime, but inner substance lasts forever, do you understand? For example, you can suppress me once, even twice but you can’t suppress me the third time if I honestly possess the talent and skills to get the work done, but with outward appearance, it just fades very quickly.
Host: The things you possess and develop in your inner self will stay with you forever.
Leslie: Yes.
Host: For example, when you first compete at the Asian Amateur singing contest and won a prize; wow, the people absolutely adored you. I remember on that night their applauses were simply overwhelming!
Leslie: Right, using our comparison between outward appearance and inner substance to discuss this, I felt at that time I simply did not have any substance within. Therefore after that overnight sensation, there was nothing left in the days that followed, everything faded away; the sparkle was gone.
Sure, people thought how cute and delightful this guy was bouncing around on stage, but in the days that followed many of the things I did were wrong and not so well received by the public as far as the trend went in those days. Some friends comforted me by saying that the things I did in those early days were too progressive; a bit too ahead of my time, but if I were to do those same things today, it would probably be more acceptable by the public. Another way of putting it was basically I simply did not have inner substance back then, so having gone through that one night of much cheers and adulation, afterwards some unpleasant consequences arose. There was a period of time when I was quite desolate but during that time I strove to enrich myself as much as possible. For instance, if you think I can’t sing, ok, so I will switch to acting, I’ll act in TV drama. Then I let a few years passed and waited for people to settle before I returned to singing. I suppose, possibly at that time my voice had yet to change but now my voice has changed, my voice is more mature so these days the albums that I released are more acceptable by everyone.
LESLIE’S SONG ‘WIND CONTINUES TO BLOW’ STARTS TO PLAY
Host: All along I have always felt that Cheung Kwok Wing is a legendary figure. Although he is young, much has happened to him. After that one night of instant fame at the 1977 Asian Amateur singing contest, Cheung Kwok Wing was suddenly treated with such cruelty by the audience. During this period of time, he continued to persevere bravely until today when he has completely won the acceptance of his audience. All these happened in the life of a young man. I don’t think every young person has this kind of experience. Join me tomorrow and the day after for more of my interview with Leslie Cheung.
Day 2 of Interview
Host: Today we have my good friend here with us, Cheung Kwok Wing.
Host: Cheung Kwok Wing, at the age of 13, left Hong Kong alone to study in England. He lived there for 5 1/2 years. During his stay in England, Leslie learnt how to be independent. In 1977 he took part in the Asian Amateur singing contest and from then on he was catapulted to stardom, but during the 7 years in the entertainment circle, Leslie has endured a lot of hardships but today as the saying goes ‘after the sufferings comes happiness’. Wow, the adjectives used here seem a bit melodramatic but it is true that Cheung Kwok Wing’s encounters were definitely dramatic.
Host: When you first participated in the Asian Amateur singing contest in 1977, wow, overnight you won the love and adulation of all the people in Hong Kong. I am thinking at that time, you were of such a tender age and it was your first taste of success and then suddenly after a while, there was this 360-degree turn, that same audience that applauded you on that night could suddenly turn around to jeer at you when they watched your music concert the second time. For instance you were so young at that time and for you to experience these two extremes or to see what the Hong Kong audience was like; I think some people after experiencing such setbacks would not be able to recover and from then on they will probably bid farewell to the entertainment circle but in my opinion, the most courageous part of you is that you persevered until today until the audience changed their views about you.
Leslie: Yes, these past few years I don’t have much that deserve self-admiration except this. I think courage is very important. Like you said, there was a period of time where I felt very depressed. I was watching all the others that came after me; my other followers, each one of them was an oncoming force, releasing hits after hits, and here I am with nothing to show for. But I persevered and made it through those years and today in a concert when the name “Cheung Kwok Wing’ is announced, it is not the same response as before. (referring to the applause that night in 1977 at the Asian Amateur singing contest) It is a different kind of response; it is even better, it has that inner substance, because my perception of the audience is they know that Cheung Kwok Wing has substance, Cheung Kwok Wing has something to show the audience in his concerts. This makes me very happy; my joy is greater than ever before. (referring to that night in 1977 at the Asian Amateur singing contest)
Host: I believe if you had experienced the taste of failure before the taste of success, you will appreciate success even more.
Leslie: Yes, yes, that’s not to say there is no pressure now. The pressure is even greater now because if you have experienced failure so many times and these days you are able to…I am referring to myself, these days I am able to reap a little of the fruits of my labor in that each time I appear in concert, the response is very positive, then I would tell myself “Cheung Kwok Wing, you can’t repeat the same performance the next time. You have to keep at being creative and come up with new ideas every time” so the pressure becomes greater but I believe after having gone through all those years, I feel I will be to get over these matters.
LESLIE SONG “I GO MY WAY” STARTS TO PLAY
Host: Do you feel that the Hong Kong audience is hard to please?
Leslie: I think that audiences everywhere are hard to please, not just in Hong Kong. I believe the saying; ‘local ginger is never as strong’ is a factor. (kind of equivalent meaning to the saying in the west that ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’). For example, when I perform stage shows overseas like in Thailand, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, the local audience finds it refreshing possibly because I am from overseas. It’s not like “we see him everyday anyway, sitting around in jeans…”but when you’re outside the feeling is different because you are a foreigner. Currently there is a trend heading towards Japanese singers. Many young students in Hong Kong like Japanese singers and stars, but can you guarantee if one day Masahiko Kondo was stationed here in Hong Kong…., I think he would be in the same boat as us.
Host: But I feel that the phrase “local ginger is not as strong” seems to be an adjective most applicable to Hong Kong. For instance, in U.S. and England, given that they are big countries, I can see that the fans there are very fanatic in supporting their idols, but by the same token, if they don’t fancy the singer, they simply would not attend his concert. They would never attend the concert to watch you; then turn around to boo and jeer at you to show their contempt. I don’t understand why the Hong Kong audience does not support our local singers. I feel that is a very critical point, because if we don’t support our own singers, who else would support them?
Leslie: I am wondering if it has something to do with politics.
Host: Wow, now our discussion is getting too deep.
Leslie: (laughs) We’re getting a bit too serious here, it’s like a current affairs forum. Perhaps the Hong Kong audience is missing the feeling of a sense of “roots”. Even though they are Hong Kongers, they do not know what country they belong to.
Host: I feel that even if we don’t support our local singers the way overseas fans support theirs, it is not right to boo them either. It is really unfair. These past ten years, there have been many singers who got booed. These are singers who are very successful overseas, and their albums sold very well there. Maybe they are simply too popular and the people can’t bear to see a singer being too popular so they feel that they need to bring them down a bit. I think this is something that the Hong Kong music fans really ought to give some thoughts to and reflect upon.
Leslie: Yes. I think as a singer, the most innocent part of it, is you’re singing on your own, I mean if you are not so professional you would not be able to sing at these big events, isn’t this right? For instance, I feel it is most unfair that I individually, with my mouth, eyes, and ears, have to put up with the jeers coming from the eyes, ears, mouths and noses of about 10,000 people in the audience. This is most unreasonable. I feel this is very unfair.
Host: Yes, we are all human beings. The only difference is we play different roles. One is on stage, and the others are off stage.
Leslie: Yes. Yes.
Host: Coming back to your work in the entertainment circle; like you said just then, besides singing, you have also invested a lot of time and efforts in acting. When did you realize you were interested in acting?
Leslie: To be honest, at first I wasn’t too interested in acting because my interest lies more in singing. But the truth is I had to face the reality that back then my singing was not well received by the public. At that time RTV, I have never worked for ATV, I was always with RTV, focused only on making TV drama. They cancelled all their composite programmes and as a singer, what else was there left for me to do? So for a few months, I felt like I was unemployed; the feeling of just getting paid for doing nothing. Then at a later period two producers approached me with “why don’t you try acting in TV drama? Is it okay with you?” and so I said “Okay, why not?’ Then later they told me that I could act, and I said ‘Oh, really?’ They said, ‘why don’t you join our drama group?’ so I said ‘Okay’.
LESLIE SONG “CHAMELEON” STARTS TO PLAY
Host: I think many people who have seen Cheung Kwok Wing’s TV dramas or films will undeniably acknowledge your unique acting skills. You have a very strong screen presence. (Leslie laughs softly in the background). You started out as a singer, which had nothing to do with acting when you took it up until your films received good reviews. I wonder if you had ‘star dreams’ all along when you were young or whether there are some special people for example foreign move stars that you idolized and you want to follow in their footsteps?
Leslie: I’ve never had ‘star dreams’ but I do have idols that I worship especially when I was young, I have always liked to watch movies, especially Western films. Maybe some people might not know this but I like Chinese operas, maybe that’s because my nanny often took me to watch operas when I was growing up. So in Hong Kong my idols are Yam Kim Fai and Pak Suet Sin. As for overseas idols, I have many that I adore and worship, such as Jane Fonda, Robert Redford; I am sure many people like him too, Barbara Streisand, and many other famous high caliber actors. Maybe I’ve watched too many movies when I was young; I think a lot of this has to do with experience. I can also say that the first TV drama I made is very different from the TV drama that I am making today. My own strength in these skills comes with time and experience.
Host: I think most of people will agree with me when I say that watching Leslie act, we feel a sense of “cool”, like James Dean back then.
Leslie: Don’t compare me to someone of that greatness. Perhaps that may have something to do with my personality. Actually I am a person who is cool on the outside but warm inside so this may have some effect when I am making a movie.
Host: Some say you have a melancholy sense. Do you think your experience through those years of setbacks has affected you?
Leslie: Of course, most definitely so.
Host: Is it possible that in your acting, you incorporate a lot of real life experiences in it?
Leslie: It all depends on the type of film. If it is a martial arts theme Kung Fu film, then of course this is not possible. Sometime when making movies…actually the thing I dislike most is this…maybe in my first film I had acted very cool and it was very well-received so after this, the scriptwriter would emphasize this ‘coolness’ every time he writes a script and I end up being typecast in roles that are cool and indignant. Actually I would like to attempt to play a wider range of roles. Luckily later on, I was able to try other types of roles.
Host: Aside from acting, most people often praise your dancing, singing and coordination on stage. You give people something new and refreshing every time. Do you often have to put a lot of efforts into this area?
Leslie: Yes, I do. A lot of times I watch musicals or music programmes. You could also say that the Japanese music business has a significant influence on me. I don’t do this intentionally that is to make myself like a Japanese singer because after all I am a Hong Kong singer so I should not take them to make such a comparison. It is just that they have a lot of gimmick on stage with many creative styles so if I can also do it, sometimes I would borrow some of it as a reference for example ???? show was extremely entertaining. He was very gimmicky, so I will copy some of that and see if I can use it on myself.
ENGLISH / JAPANESE SONG STARTS TO PLAY
Host: Many people feel that most of our local artists do not have their own signature style on stage.
Leslie: Yes.
Host: Many copy from others, like from Michael Jackson, etc. Do you think it has to do with what you said earlier about Hong Kong people not feeling a sense of “roots”? And that’s why our local artists are unable to create their own signature style on stage?
Leslie: Well, you should ask it this way. Why do the overseas stars have their own personal style? That’s because if they are a singer, they don’t have to concern themselves with so many other things, such as acting in TV or films, like the way we do. The truth is there is not enough time to do both. For example, Michael Jackson is not working on anything else this year. His target for this year is to just release one album and some music videos. Now let me ask you, for example, he spent six months to make his album ‘Thriller’, how long does it take us to make ‘Jade Solid Gold’ (Hong Kong music program)?
Host: Half a day.
Leslie: Half a day and that’s considered pretty good. What I am saying is that we do it too fast. So that’s why it is impossible for the overseas artist not to do well. Plus they do a lot of promotion, and they have a large financial backing. The most important thing in showbiz is to have the financial backing, or you just won’t make it. You can make Leslie Cheung a superstar one day if you are willing to invest 10 million dollars on me. Overseas, their return on investment is high so the record company is willing to throw in a lot of money on one singer. That’s why they give us a feeling that they are a ‘superstar’. Plus they have professionals teaching them how to dance, when and where to turn and jump. We don’t have it in Hong Kong so that’s why we imitate them. Hong Kong singers are not so able to set the trend because our market is too small, and the profits that we make aren’t as much. This is right, isn’t it? It’s a fair matter.
Host: Right, I agree. Actually I think Hong Kong is pretty magical, with such a small budget yet we can still transform it into something so big.
Leslie: What we are can be proud of is our entertainment industry which is definitely better than any places that I have been to. It is most certainly better than Thailand, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and any other foreign countries. Of all the countries in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong is the only country that plays second fiddle to Japan. Japan is a truly such big place. If you look on the map, you can see Japan is many times bigger than Hong Kong.
Host: I agree totally.
MICHAEL JACKSON’S SONG ‘BEAT IT’ STARTS TO PLAY
Host: Many people say that the entertainment circle is very materialistic. In the past 7 years, I believe Cheung Kwok Wing has witness its warmth and coldness. Judging from his physical appearance, our impression of Leslie is that of a Casanova. Is this a wrong perception? Or is this really the case? Join us tomorrow to continue our interview with Leslie.
Day 3 of Interview
Host: Strictly speaking, Cheung Kwok Wing is a singer, but it is very surprising that our deepest impressions of Leslie are those of his acting roles in ‘Encore”, “On Trial”, “Teenage Dreamers”, “Drummer”, “The First time”, etc. Sometimes it is strange; is it correct to say ‘destiny makes a man’ but often things don’t turn out the way you plan but as long as we strive ahead with courage, even destiny is no huddle.
Host: Let’s talk about your changes over the last few years; for example we have talked about the audience’s change towards you, how in the beginning there were the sound of jeers that were later transformed to applause and adulation. Aside from the change in your audience, I believe you have worked with many colleagues these past few years, but for the most part, it is probable that you worked with the same bunch of people. During these past years, did you witness any genuineness and phoniness in people? How did they treat you when you were at your lowest point in your career? And do they treat you any different now that you are successful?
Leslie: Yes, definitely. I have seen too much of that. I can’t list each incident down one by one. I don’t want to make my image out to be so sad. There is truth to this phrase, ‘It is a cruel and fickle world’. For example, when I was being booed, no one asked me to do shows, no one asked me to sing at restaurants, and no one asked me to record an album. But now that my albums are selling well, my songs are hits and made it to the billboard, instantly I get offers to make commercials and act in films. In addition, my monetary compensation in both singing and acting has gone up several folds. I don’t blame them because this is the reality of show biz. Once you enter showbiz, you must be prepared for this. I am just very happy that I made it through all those years, and that it didn’t kill me, and I am even more famous than before. I am very happy for all that I have today, because this is my reward and the fruit of my labor and hard work during all those years.
LESLIE’S SONG “SWIMMING UPSTREAM” STARTS TO PLAY
Host: There is a lot of superficiality in showbiz. Like you said it is a cruel and fickle world, so did you make any real friends in all these years?
Leslie: Yes, definitely. For example, while filming for TV and movies I came to know Man Chi Leung. He is a good man as well as a good friend. On the singing side, there is Deannie Yip (aka Yip Tak Han). She is a very nice lady. As for my other friends, please don’t get upset with me for not mentioning your names. As far as I am concerned I feel I have to choose the best out of all my other friends. I think these two are very good people.
Host: Besides your good friends, are there any others in the circle that you admire? Your reason for admiring these people could be twofold; maybe you admire them because they are lovely people that handle matters very well. Secondly, maybe you admire these people because they are capable of doing certain matters.
Leslie: Oh, you are talking about those matters. (Leslie laughs) I think regarding those people, I better not stir up others’ dislike. Yip Tak Han…I will have to say it is Yip Tak Han.
Host: It is still Yip Tak Han?
Leslie: Yip Tak Han. I do admire her very much.
Host: Would you say she is someone that absolutely sticks to her guns?
Leslie: Yes, but actually she is not so suited for showbiz because she is too stubborn; she is too self-centered, but she is very willing to help others.
Host: From what you are saying, people who are suitable for showbiz ought to be those that are very accommodating to the opinions of others and must cater to everyone’s taste at anytime.
Leslie: It’s like a service (laughing)
Host: I think if there were such a person, we would not like him too much. I don’t know, maybe I am just speaking for myself.
Leslie: Unless that person is really good at it, and his mask of superficiality has to be on tight because eventually people will know the truth, right?
Host: Let’s talk about a topic that is closer to home.
Leslie: Yes
Host: Two days ago, I was talking to a friend. He is a long time listener to this program. He grew up in our generation. He is about 23 years old now.
Leslie: So young (laughing)
Host: He started listening to this program at a young age.
Leslie: Okay (laughing)
Host: We talked about a serious topic. A topic that people in Hong Kong is concerned about. And that is the four numbers ‘1997’ (when Hong Kong will be handed over to China). I used to think that only people over 30 years old would be concerned about ‘1997’ and what the future holds. But that’s not the case. Even the younger generation is starting to think about it too. He said he wasn’t sure if he should get married, given that he doesn’t know what would happen 10 plus years from now. He said ‘what if I didn’t get married, and 10 plus years later, everything turned out fine, then I wouldn’t have anything. So he doesn’t know whether he should get married and have kids.
Host: Cheung Kwok Wing, at your age now, have you started to think about these things yet?
Leslie: I have thought about it, but this question is too serious (Leslie laughs). Yes, the four numbers is currently the topic of the day. I do think about what I should do with my assets, or whether I should move overseas but really I have traveled all over and I still feel that Hong Kong is truly a very good place. No matter where I’ve been to, be it the U.S., Canada, Europe or Southeast Asia, I feel that Hong Kong is a very lovely place. It really is. It would be a shame if someone spoils it but if you force me to leave, I really don’t wish to. Actually it is such a small place; like you said, it is a miracle, it is such a small place where you can see everything…the polarization between the rich and poor; it is a place bright with many colors and Hong Kong is also a place that represents so much. I don’t know what I am going to do yet. At the moment I am still gathering opinions from friends. Of course some of them think I should leave because there will be no democracy after the takeover, while others seems to think that I should not worry about it until the time comes. In this area, I am a rather fickle person. I need to gather all the other opinions from the older generation of friends, not the younger generation because they won’t have anything new to tell me. I will ask the elders and people with inner substance for advice on what to do. What I realize I need to do for now is to focus on the present. In the next few years, I will concentrate my efforts to do well at my work. Of course realistically speaking ‘doing well at my work’ means I want to make more money and after I have made more money, then I will give more thought to this problem.
LIONEL RICHIE SONG “HELLO” STARTS TO PLAY
Host: Leslie, you seem to be pretty optimistic about the future.
Leslie: Basically, this is what I mean; I feel that there is no need to be in such a hurry to worry about so many things yet. If you ask me if for this reason I am not going to get married, I would think that is very silly. I really think it is such a silly notion. To marry or not to marry depends on the progress of your love matters. You cannot involve politics with issues such as whether or not you would be getting married or if you are planning to have any children. This is a matter of love, body and soul so politics shouldn’t play a role in it. But I wouldn’t say because of this I am not going to marry.
Host: Have you really thought about, maybe one day in the future, maybe even next year, getting married and settling down?
Leslie: Not so soon. Currently I don’t even have someone to hold hands with. It is not even Tang Wai Sin, or Lam San San. They are my good friends, nothing like what the rumors are saying. I think as for going out on a date, you could be my next partner! Asking you out for a concert or a movie, I think this is very basic socializing.
Host: Do you think in the eyes of the Hong Kong public, let’s not say the Hong Kong people but the general public; that a man at your age, handsome, carefree, with a successful career, and everything seems to be progressing smoothly, should have a woman by his side? Do you think this could be the reason or perhaps this is the image you have given to the public that made them weave so many tales for you?
Leslie: A lot of beautiful dreams. These are called beautiful borrowed dreams. (laughing)
Host: You have to return it.
Leslie: I think about it sometimes. Actually a year or two ago, I did ponder if I should find someone nice to start dating seriously but I feel this is not something I have control over, nor should I be hasty about it.
Host: Frankly speaking, the impression you gave us is truly that of a Casanova.
Leslie: Is this right? (Leslie giggles)
Host: What would the real you be like?
Leslie: The real me is full of affection.
Host: So full that you could handle having several girlfriends?
Leslie: One at a time, that is I am not the type that can manage three at a time like in the TV dramas, that’s ridiculous. That is not something I would do. When I love a person, I will love her with all of my heart and give it all I have. However I can’t guarantee how long I will love this person for, and often I am not the one who falls out of love first. The sad thing is because of our wide exposure outside, so maybe the image of Cheung Kwok Wing they see on screen, in newspapers and magazines is not the same as the Cheung Kwok Wing in private. Some may feel that the Cheung Kwok Wing in private is too ordinary, maybe even more ordinary than the average person, so they may lose interest in me.
Host: laughs
Leslie: Don’t laugh, it is true. I am actually a very ordinary person. After work, even on Sundays I would rather go home and listen to music, sleep, eat and then sleep again. I don’t think many girls can put up with staying home on Sundays with a guy that sleep, eat and listen to music. In that sense, I am pretty tedious. I am not a very sociable person and I don’t really like to socialize much.
Host: Wow! I think the onscreen image of Cheung Kwok Wing is the complete opposite of the real Cheung Kwok Wing.
Leslie: (softly laughs) Perhaps you too have that impression about me, that I am a night owl and entertain a lot? I rarely entertain.
LESLIE’S SONG ‘HOW COULD I HAVE KNOWN’ STARTS TO PLAY
Host: Let’s talk about your work again. These past two years everything has definitely worked out more smoothly for you. I know and can imagine that there must be pressure.
Leslie: Yes
Host: Can you share with us what you would like to work on in the future?
Leslie: Regarding my work in the future, for instance if there are some good directors of course I would like to act in their films but I will be more selective because in the past when working in films, I was too soft-hearted. My biggest flaw is that I am too soft at heart. When some people pat me on the shoulders or some directors treat me a bit nicer I will agree to act in their film. I think I am tougher these days, and will decide whether to accept a movie role based on the quality of the product instead. Even this year I am only going to act in two films, three at the most. In the past, I would act in six movies a year. I don’t think that is going to happen again. And in terms of music, I will choose more suitable songs to sing for everyone. I think the quality of my albums these days are pretty good, so I will keep that up. It won’t be worse than the ones released in the past. Also I want to give praise to my record company, for they have really done a great job.
Host: Sometimes it is hard to not believe in fate. Often it is fate that is in control of your life more than you are in control of your life. You have experienced some low points in your career, and now things are really working out well for you. Are you afraid that one day your career may hit another low point again? I hope it doesn’t happen, but life is always full of ups and downs.
Leslie: I can cope with anything that comes my way. I think after experiencing those earlier years, I can handle whatever comes my way but that is not to say that I am wise enough to predict the future, but I think there is not much that can get in the way of my work.
LESLIE’S SONG ‘WIND CONTINUES TO BLOW’ STARTS TO PLAY
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